Local hospitality coalition to meet

Thursday

KITTERY, Maine — It's nearly March and before long, foreign students will begin looking for housing in preparation for summer jobs on the Seacoast.

KITTERY, Maine — It's nearly March and before long, foreign students will begin looking for housing in preparation for summer jobs on the Seacoast.

A new group formed in Kittery hopes to be ready to help them. A meeting of the group is scheduled to take place March 19.

The Seacoast J1 Hospitality Coalition was formed last summer by Kittery Town Councilor Jeff Thomson after he heard about students with jobs at area businesses unable to find a place to live.

The coalition is expected to be a clearinghouse for information on housing and may also start a bicycle rental program so students have transportation while in the area.

Foreign students coming to work in the area receive a J1 visa that allows them to work for three months and travel for one month. The J1 student visa program is intended primarily as a cultural exchange.

Thomson said he has heard that this summer, 40 or more students may be working in Kittery alone. He said a representative of one organization that prepares paperwork for the students told him students are already looking online for housing.

Town Councilor Chuck Denault has agreed to let his Web site, www.ourkittery.com, act as an online presence for the coalition. Residents who want to rent a room to students will be able to post the opening, and students can use the site to learn about the bike exchange and other activities.

Thomson said that over the winter, a number of bikes have been left at the Kittery Community Center to be refurbished. Residents are still invited to drop off their bikes at the KCC, he said.

Thomson said, however, that for the coalition to get off the ground, residents and business people have to commit to help out.

"I understand people have busy lives, but unless some are willing to assume some of the responsibility, it can't happen," he said of the coalition.

Thomson said all are invited to the March 19 meeting, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

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